Alexander

(Alexander Obrenović) (ōbrĕ`nəvĭch), 1876–1903, king of Serbia (1889–1903), son of King MilanMilan(Milan Obrenović) , 1854–1901, prince (1868–82) and king (1882–89) of Serbia; grandnephew of Miloš Obrenović. He succeeded his cousin Michael Obrenović as prince......Click the link for more information.. He succeeded on his father's abdication. Proclaiming himself of age in 1893, he took over the government, abolished (1894) the relatively liberal constitution of 1889, and restored the conservative one of 1869. He recalled his father in 1897, gave him command of the army, and permitted him to undertake a campaign against the pro-Russian Radical party. In 1900 he married Draga Mašin, the widow of a foreign engineer and a former lady-in-waiting (see DragaDraga, 1867–1903, queen consort of King Alexander of Serbia. A widow and a lady in waiting to the king's mother, Draga Mašin (Mashin) was accused by general rumor of a shady and promiscuous past. In 1900 the infatuated king shocked his nation by marrying her......Click the link for more information.). The scandal of the marriage exasperated his opposition. In 1903, after Alexander had arbitrarily suspended and then restored the new liberal constitution that he had granted in 1901, he and his queen were assassinated by a clique of officers. Peter Karadjordjević was recalled as King Peter IPeter I,1844–1921, king of Serbia (1903–18) and king of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (1918–21), son of Prince Alexander of Serbia (Alexander Karadjordjević)......Click the link for more information., and the ObrenovićObrenovićor Obrenovich, Serbian dynasty. Its founder, Miloš Obrenović (see Miloš), was the first modern Serbian ruler. The murder (1817) of Karageorge (Karadjordje), probably at Miloš's instigation, started the long feud between the.....Click the link for more information. dynasty came to an end.

Alexander,

1888–1934, king of Yugoslavia (1921–34), son and successor of Peter IPeter I,1844–1921, king of Serbia (1903–18) and king of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (1918–21), son of Prince Alexander of Serbia (Alexander Karadjordjević)......Click the link for more information.. Of the Karadjordjević family, he was educated in Russia and became crown prince of Serbia upon the renunciation (1909) of the succession by his brother George. He led Serbian forces in the Balkan War of 1912, became regent in June, 1914, led the Serbian army in World War I, and became (Dec., 1918) regent of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia). In 1922 he married Princess Marie of Romania. After his accession increasing disorder arose from the Croatian autonomy movement. After the assassination (1928) of Stjepan RadićRadić, Stjepan, or Stefan Radich, 1871–1928, Croatian politician. Of peasant origin, he early became active in politics and founded (1905) the Croatian Peasant party......Click the link for more information., the Croat Peasant party leader, Alexander in 1929 dismissed the parliament, abolished the constitution and the parties, and became absolute ruler. To emphasize the unity he hoped to give the country, he changed (Oct., 1929) its official name to Yugoslavia. Although he announced the end of the dictatorship in 1931 and proclaimed a new constitution, he kept power in his own hands. His authoritarian and centralizing policy brought him the hatred of the separatist minorities, particularly the Croats and Macedonians, as well as the opposition of Serbian liberals. In foreign policy he was loyal to the French alliance and to the Little EntenteLittle Entente, loose alliance formed in 1920–21 by Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Yugoslavia. Its specific purposes were the containment of Hungarian revisionism (of the terms of the World War I peace treaty) and the prevention of a restoration of the Hapsburgs......Click the link for more information.. In 1934 he debarked at Marseilles on a state visit to France. A member of a Croatian separatist organization fired on his car, assassinating the king and fatally wounding the French foreign minister, Louis BarthouBarthou, Louis, 1862–1934, French cabinet minister and man of letters. He held portfolios in numerous cabinets after 1894 and was briefly premier in July–Aug., 1913. His government was responsible for the law that increased military service from two to three years......Click the link for more information.. Alexander was succeeded by his young son, Peter IIPeter II,1923–70, king of Yugoslavia (1934–45). He succeeded under the regency of his cousin, Prince Paul, when his father, King Alexander, was assassinated in Marseilles. In World War II, when Paul's government signed (Mar......Click the link for more information..

Bibliography

See study by S. Graham (1939, repr. 1972).

Alexander

(Alexander of Battenberg), 1857–93, prince of Bulgaria (1879–86); second son of Prince Alexander of Hesse-Darmstadt and nephew of Alexander IIAlexander II,1818–81, czar of Russia (1855–81), son and successor of Nicholas I. He ascended the throne during the Crimean War (1853–56) and immediately set about negotiating a peace (see Paris, Congress of)......Click the link for more information. of Russia. He served in the Russian army against the Turks (1877–78) and, backed by the Rus sian czar, was elected hereditary prince of Bulgaria under Turkish suzerainty. In 1885 the revolutionaries in Eastern RumeliaRumeliaor Roumelia, region of S Bulgaria, between the Balkan and Rhodope mts. Historically, Rumelia denoted the Balkan possessions (particularly Thrace and Macedonia, and excluding Bosnia) of the Ottoman Empire......Click the link for more information., also known as Southern Bulgaria, proclaimed the union of that province with Bulgaria. Alexander accepted the union, thus incurring the wrath of the Russian czar and Serbia. The latter declared war. Alexander was victorious and by an agreement with Turkey became governor of Eastern Rumelia, but he was forced to abdicate by a group of officers. He became an Austrian officer, and FerdinandFerdinand,1861–1948, czar of Bulgaria (1908–18), after being ruling prince (1887–1908). A grandnephew of Ernest I of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, he was chosen prince of Bulgaria after the enforced abdication of Prince Alexander......Click the link for more information. was elected to succeed him as prince.

Alexander,

1893–1920, king of the Hellenes (1917–20), second son of Constantine IConstantine I,1868–1923, king of the Hellenes, eldest son of George I, whom he succeeded in 1913. Married to Sophia, sister of the German emperor William II, he opposed the pro-Allied policy of the Greek premier, Eleutherios Venizelos, and was forced to abdicate in 1917.....Click the link for more information.. After his father's forced abdication, he succeeded to the Greek throne with the support of the Allies, who distrusted the sympathies of his elder brother George (later King George IIGeorge II,1890–1947, king of the Hellenes (1922–23, 1935–47), successor and eldest son of King Constantine I. When Constantine I was forced by the Allies to abdicate in 1917, George, also suspected of being pro-German, was passed over in favor of his younger.....Click the link for more information.). Alexander died of a monkey bite. His father, Constantine I, was restored to the throne shortly afterward.

Alexander

(Alexander Karadjordjević) (kărəjôr`jəvĭch), 1806–85, prince of Serbia (1842–58), son of KarageorgeKarageorge, 1768?–1817, Serbian patriot. Born George Petrović, he was known as Karageorge, or Black George. He led the Serbs in their insurrection (1804) against the Ottomans, took (1806) Belgrade, where the Ottoman population was massacred, and was proclaimed (1808).....Click the link for more information. (Karadjordje). He was elected to succeed the deposed MichaelMichael(Michael Obrenović) , 1823–68, prince of Serbia (1839–42, 1860–68); younger son of Prince Miloš. He succeeded his brother, Milan, but was deposed (1842) several years later by supporters of Alexander (Alexander Karadjordjević)......Click the link for more information. of Serbia. Weak and vacillating, he did not send troops to aid the Slavic minorities in Hungary during the revolution of 1848–49. He later submitted to Turkish and Austrian pressure in withholding his support from Russia in the Crimean War of 1854–56. Discontent with his ineffective government finally led his subjects to depose him and to recall MilošMilošor Milosh(Miloš Obrenović) , 1780–1860, prince of Serbia (1817–39, 1858–60), founder of the Obrenović dynasty and of modern Serbia......Click the link for more information. as king. In 1868, Alexander was condemned to death in absentia by a Serbian court for his alleged part in the assassination of Michael, who had succeeded Miloš. Alexander was the father of Peter IPeter I,1844–1921, king of Serbia (1903–18) and king of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (1918–21), son of Prince Alexander of Serbia (Alexander Karadjordjević)......Click the link for more information. of Yugoslavia.

Alexander,

in the Bible. 1 Kinsman of Annas. 2 Son of Simon of Cyrene, probably a Christian. 3 Heretic condemned by Paul. 4 Coppersmith who did Paul harm. 5 Jew who tried to speak during a riot at Ephesus. The last three may be the same man. The Alexanders in the books of the Maccabees are Alexander the Great and Alexander BalasAlexander Balas, d. 145 B.C., ruler of Syria, putative son of Antiochus IV. He seized power from his uncle Demetrius I (c.152 B.C.); Jonathan the Maccabee supported him. He died in battle against Ptolemy Philometor......Click the link for more information..

Alexander,

in Greek mythology: see ParisParisor Alexander,in Greek mythology, son of Priam and Hecuba and brother of Hector. Because it was prophesied that he would cause the destruction of Troy, Paris was abandoned on Mt. Ida, but there he was raised by shepherds and loved by the nymph Oenone......Click the link for more information..

Alexander

Harold (Rupert Leofric George), Earl Alexander of Tunis. 1891--1969, British field marshal in World War II, who organized the retreat from Dunkirk and commanded in North Africa (1943) and Sicily and Italy (1944--45); governor general of Canada (1946--52); British minister of defence (1952--54)

All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.